It is my personal belief that the only way to make real change is to listen to those who disagree with us and understand where it is they are coming from. Debate is healthy and important. Hell, it's MANDATORY, really, and I have learned that from all of you these last twelve years. Thank you. (I once wrote an entire blog post about how I could *never* be friends with a Republican. That was a naive and ignorant thing to write and say and I believe we all, at the end of the day, want the same things for our children. I also think it's important to TRULY hear out ALL points of view, so long as they are respectful of other points of view because there are millions of points of view that point to different views and have points and I respect all who think for themselves.)

Respecting the voices of others while raising my own. That is my party of choice. That's what makes democracy beautiful and important and worth fighting for.

“If you are bored and disgusted by politics and don't bother to vote, you are in effect voting for the entrenched Establishments of the two major parties, who please rest assured are not dumb, and who are keenly aware that it is in their interests to keep you disgusted and bored and cynical and to give you every possible reason to stay at home doing one-hitters and watching MTV on primary day. By all means stay home if you want, but don't bullshit yourself that you're not voting. In reality, there is no such thing as not voting: You either vote by voting, or you vote by staying home and tacitly doubling the value of some diehard's vote.” - David Foster Wallace.